Seeking Purpose
by Kawaii-lyn
Summary: Folk say the Water Priestess can grant any wish you want. To find her is nigh impossible, but if you do...you'll be a changed man. The best of luck to those who venture forth in search of her. The best of fortune to those who find her...
1. The Unusual Old Man

_Folk say the Water Priestess can grant any wish you want. To find her is nigh impossible, but if you do...you'll be a changed man. The best of luck to those who venture forth in search of her. The best of fortune to those who find her. Very few live to tell such a tale. Only one that we know of has lived to tell the tale...  
_

**Seeking Purpose**

Chapter 1-The Unusual Old Man

by KawaiiLyn

His tattered clothes, growling stomach, and exhausted ostrich-horse were tell-tale signs—they were going to die soon. He needed food _now_. His heavy lids and slumping spine spoke differently from his planned intentions.

Everything went black.

_"Only three beings know of the whereabouts of the Water Priestess. I can tell you where "he" is, but the other two you're on your own." his uncle said while he prepared for his journey._

_"Who is he? How will I find him?"_

_"It is rumored that he's her mortal brother, isolated and heartless to the outside world. It's said that to lose one beloved to the Spirit World is a loss that a mortal soul can barely undertake...death sounding more pleasing everyday; but to lose two beloveds under the same circumstances, he is a very unfortunate man. He lost his sister, later his lover, to the Spirits that guard the Watertribe. Ever since the two women he loved became deities, he avoids the world for a more simple life. It will be difficult finding him, let alone getting him to divulge such personal information to a complete and, in his eyes, self-centered stranger."_

_"I'll do what I can." _

His nose awoke before his eyes did, the smell of some sort of cooked meat filling his nostrils, teasing his denied stomach. He rose stiffly, unaccustomed to the luxury of sleeping in a bed once again. (How much traveling did it take to treat a bed with such unfamiliarity?) The sizzling and popping of the cooking meat stole him from his thoughts. Scanning the unusually decorated room, his eyes fell upon the oddest curiosity he had seen yet...a wrinkled old man in a corner, entirely in blue garb, staring at him with eyes of such...distrust? Hatred? The oddities of his person were the tanned skin and darkened complexion contrasting with the most peculiar (and hypnotizing) eye color he had ever seen. Blue. Clear, unmistakable, blue.

How luck was on Zuko's side, he still wasn't sure. But the quest held promise. In exchange for information regarding the Water Priestess, he had to do a simple task for the old man. Retrieval of some boomerang. No firebending.

Easy.

Of course he just had to forget to mention that it was in an underground cave.

The soft pattering of his feet on the damp, rocky floor was the only sound within the echoing walls. Droplets of water fell about randomly from the moist ceiling. His footing was slow and cautious, the only source of light coming from a tiny circle of light above—an opening to the earth's surface from the cave. Difficult to reach, as it was a good 30 feet high, but he didn't concern himself much with it at the moment. He had more important things to worry about.

Giving his bag of supplies a quick shrug, he continued on—entering a more impenetrable darkness.

_How will the old man know he doesn't use his firebending, anyways? He isn't here! One little flame wouldn't hurt._

Finally seeing the boomerang caught in a crevice 20 feet up on the cave's opposite wall, he had to wonder what the old man was doing to get it stuck up there.

_"Aang look out! Katara, take care of those things would ya? Aang needs help."_

_The ringing sound of his precious boomerang sung through the air, knocking something down and freeing the Avatar, before ultimately being stuck inside a jutted crevice in the wall._

_**They** weren't going to wait until he retrieved his boomerang. And the trio couldn't afford to wait. It would have to be left behind. _

After a loud shaking of the cave's earth, and a low rumbling echoing off the walls, he had a feeling he might soon find out...and why he was warned to not bend.

An amphibious form of a sea serpent blocked his way. It's fiery red eyes glowed in the darkness, showing its teeth and stretching to its full height. About a dozen more swam about in the water, some remaining, some transferring to land.

Adrenaline pumping, Zuko unsheathed his swords, as he was forced to extinguish his primary light source.

_This damn old man had better keep his word._

The normally still and silent cave became tumultuous and loud for quite some time as the battle began.


	2. The Boomerang

**Seeking Purpose**

Chapter 2-The Boomerang

by Kawaii-Lyn

Six serpents lay slain behind him. The rest had retreated to the water, their own playing field hidden with advantages he had no time to decipher, and no time to wait to find out.

He ran towards the higher rocks as fast as he could, using the time to put some distance between him and the serpents. Their still glowing eyes menacingly followed him beneath the watery depths.

He scaled the wall, fearing the chance of a weak ledge or non-existent footing. He hadn't time to check if they were there, he just continuously prayed to Agni above that they were. He also thanked the other gods for keeping the serpents silent: he was currently in a very difficult position to fight back. He firebended a flame to gather his surroundings.

There it was. One fourth of it hidden behind the sparkling minerals of the cave's wall. Peculiarly, the one circle of light above seemed to have moved over in favor of his position. He made sure to thank Agni for that as well while he reached for the troublesome boomerang.

Within an inch of it the serpents had arisen once more, more plentiful and enraged then the last time. _So they respond to bending._

Again, the boomerang would have to wait; but he wasn't going to leave without it unlike those before him. Unsheathing his swords again, it took all he had to not just firebend them away.

Finally, he had the boomerang in his possession. Unluckily, his boat was dismembered by the serpents, the tide was returning, and the incoming serpents entered through his original means of escape...the cave's ocean entrance.

He looked up.

_Perhaps._

He threw down the slain head of one of the serpent's onto the old man's floor. It was their unspoken agreement that he did in fact, kill it without the use of firebending. It's red eyes glazed over, its tongue lolling out, and its blood still seeping through the pouch it was peaking out of. Next to it, the troublesome boomerang lay visible, oddly still in mint condition.

"Let's skip the introductions and just get this over with. I have something to do." said the blunt, bloodied, weary, and tattered exiled prince of the Fire Nation.

Sokka took in the young man before him once more. He would have to keep his word. He could only pray that Yue knew what she was doing by making him trust this rude young man.

"I will tell you a story..."

_A great many people migrated away from the main populace. Some went west, others north, and some decided to stay in the east; the continent separated and we were originally from the group that went north...later known as the Water Tribe._

_But when we first arrived, the tundra was merciless, environment frigid, life difficult. A few of the elders had a wise idea; they decided to make a bargain with the water spirits. They asked for the abilities to control and wield the water, enabling them to better adjust to their surroundings, and to better survive. The water spirits granted them their wish._

_Within days, the elders taught themselves how to bend the water by mimicking the pushing and pulling movements of the ocean, while also understanding the moon's influence on the waves. They began to teach their apprentices, who in turn taught the tribe, and later—the children. All were given the chance to waterbend._

_But a few of the elders didn't like the idea. They said they couldn't trust the water spirits, and thus, they and their followers became the few who chose not to waterbend, but to stick to the old ways. But the rest wouldn't listen. And they continued to bend and utilize their powers with earnest._

_Those who didn't wish to bend the water, were wise in their precautions._

_The water spirits wanted payment for their generous gift. No they didn't want food, shrines, blessings or temples in their names. They wanted something more...beneficial._

_It was decreed that the most powerful waterbender must be sacrificed, and become the Water Priest._

_It takes a great deal of time controlling the power of water, said the spirits. It also takes a great deal of energy, they continued. Just make our jobs easier, just give us your most powerful bender once after every 3500 benders are born. It not too much to ask for, they said. That person would be immortal, aging at a slower pace than that of mortals, with powers nigh unimaginable, they finished._

_The elders agreed this was fair, and one of their own departed to become the first Water Priest. The tribe continued to grow on. Some descending from benders, some not, some a mix of the two. Only when members became older was the legend passed down, generation to generation, with the eldest healers mentally keeping count of the number of benders born, as it was all chance know if a bender was born now; the intermixing blood of original benders and original non-benders within everyone. The healers all assured it was still a while before they had to worry. Those were the safe times._

_But the times would come up when the new Water Priest would need to be reborn. Those were the times when many chose not to have children, when the tribe was threatened with extinction, and when a depressing air hung over them all. The benders tried their best to limit their uses of bending, hoping to make the Water Priest's job easier, or perhaps to earn some grace from the water spirits. In this way, the tribe as a people preferred peace over war...their gifts didn't come cheaply. With every new bender born, a price was paid. They all knew it well._

_Somehow, it continued on, and a cycle was developed. At one point, many kids being born at the same time, and at another, many weren't being born. Either way—Water Priests and Priestesses were made, all to please and ease the job of the water spirits._

_That was the Water Tribe's curse for possessing the ability to bend water, the giver of life._

_And down the line, to more recent times, approximately 70 years ago, Sokka's sister was chosen when she turned 16, to become the next Water Priestess. Her reign has currently been a long 70 years so far, but to her, it most likely felt like seconds. She aged slowly, laughed little, and remained silent often. The curse of being the Water Priestess was a very lonely task. _

The silence loomed over the end of Sokka's speech long into the night, and well into the morning. Upon awaking, he found Zuko prepared to depart once more.

"When and where do I find her?." said the blunt Zuko.

"I do not know myself."

"...How is that possible? You're her..."

"Our old ties were long since severed. She's not allowed to pay familial visits. She's only allowed to walk amongst us at a certain period of time, at a certain place—and it's never at the same place twice. Her status became legend through lucky people happening to be at the right place, at the right time, with the right paining heart. That is where you hear the stories of a Water Priestess who grants wishes—they say it's impossible to find her."

"Are you telling me I traveled, hunted, fought, and nearly died for a crooked and useless piece of wood for absolutely nothing, old man?" growled Zuko through clenched teeth and steaming hands.

"I can direct you to the person who knows when she'll come next. He is allowed visits from her, and has seen her more than I have. Where I've seen her a handful of times throughout the past 70 years, he's seen her a good two dozen at least. He'll be able to help. Tell him, 'Sokka sent you.' I do have just one question, though. When you find the Water Priestess, what do you plan on wishing for?"

"The Avatar. He should be about your age now, and my forefathers have searched for him for many years now. I shall be the **one** to find him."

"What makes you so sure you'll find him when they couldn't?" Sokka asked, a peculiarly amused glint in his eye.

"Their honor didn't hang in the balance. If he alluded them for so long, he can't be found by normal means. I've searched for him for eight years now without so much as even a glimpse of his face. That is why I shall ask the Water Priestess to grant me my wish...to give me the Avatar."

Sokka merely nodded and dismissed the young man. _He shall learn the hard way then. Heh, I wonder what "he" will say when he sees him at his doorstep. _

_It was as if the world just wanted him to spend his life traveling to the far end's of the earth._ Zuko sighed at his far-off destination before setting off into the direction of Kyoshi Island. His next source of information was an old man named...Aang.


End file.
